Middle Schools in Bristol City Schools

Middle schools in Bristol City Schools are served by a single campus, Bristol Tennessee Middle School, which enrolls 871 students in grades 6–8 in Bristol, TN. The school is a consistent 4-star institution, ranking in the 81st percentile statewide for 2025–2026, with a state rank of 115 out of 594 Tennessee middle schools. Its strongest academic areas are Social Studies and Science: 66.2% of students are proficient in Social Studies (nearly 15 points above the state average) and 58.2% are proficient in Science (about 11 points above the state). Every grade level at the school outperforms the state in Social Studies by double digits, and 6th and 7th graders post science proficiency rates near 64%.

However, not all subjects are equally strong. Math proficiency is 46.6% — above the state average of 43.0% but below the district average of 49.9%. English Language Arts is the biggest concern: only 39.8% of students are proficient, falling below both the district (45.6%) and the state (40.6%). The school’s ELA proficiency actually slipped slightly from 40.0% to 39.8% year-over-year while the state improved, meaning the school went from above the state average to below it. There is also a clear 8th-grade drop-off: proficiency falls sharply in math (37.4% vs. 55.5% in 7th grade), ELA (32.6% vs. 45.7%), Science (47.7% vs. 64.5%), and Social Studies (59.9% vs. 73.3%). Chronic absenteeism is 16.1% — better than the state’s 18.3% but higher than the district’s 14.4%.

Encouragingly, the school’s state ranking has improved steadily, from the 72nd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 80th percentile in 2024–2025 and the 81st percentile in 2025–2026. Math proficiency rose 2.9 points, Social Studies rose 2.5 points, and Science rose 0.9 points year-over-year. Per-student spending is about $12,386, though district and state comparators are not available to evaluate efficiency. Missing data on free/reduced lunch and student-teacher ratio limits a full picture, but the key takeaway for parents is straightforward: Bristol Tennessee Middle School is a strong, improving school with excellent results in Social Studies and Science, yet it needs targeted attention in English Language Arts and 8th-grade math and reading support.